Backing up photos on an external disk?
I have over 3000 photos backed up in the cloud. I want to move them all to an external hard drive and get rid of the extra storage I'm paying for in the cloud. How do I do that in an easy fashion?
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First make sure the external HD is formatted as shown in this screenshot depending on what type it is:
Next create a new library on the EHD and make it the System Photo Library and check the Importing checkbox.
Enable the iCloud Library but do not enable "Optimize Mac Storage".
When the download of the full sized original files is completed (could take up to a week depending on the internet speed) to that library disable iCloud Library in it. Make sure all of the photos you expect to be in it are there before you delete the original library from your boot drive.
This will give you a full, managed, Photos library of all of your photos.
NOTE: be sure to have a backup strategy that includes the hard drive which houses your Photos library. Time Machine can backup both the boot drive and any designated EHD.